Warriors draft Lasme with 46th pick

Stephane Lasme's rapid rise through the world of basketball will now lead him to the Bay Area. With the 46th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors selected Lasme, making him the first UMass player drafted since Lari Ketner was taken by the Bulls in 1999.

Lasme will join an exciting team that won one of the truly great series' of this year's NBA playoffs when they upset the Mavericks. They play an uptempo style that should suit Lasme's game perfectly. His ability to run the court and create fast breaks with blocked shots should help him carve out his niche. The Warriors don't have much depth in the frontcourt, and with only two players on their roster at season's end averaging over 6 rebound per game, there seems to be a real opportunity for Lasme to fill a role on the team.

As luck would have it, Golden State also drafted Alabama's Jermareo Davidson, who went head-to-head against Lasme in the NIT in March. Davidson finished that game with 10 points on 4-14 shooting and 6 rebounds. Many of those misses went directly into the palm of Lasme, who had 9 blocks in the game (despite being 3 inches shorter), in addition to his 21 points and 6 rebounds.

However, the Warriors shipped Davidson to Charlotte, along with longtime fixture Jason Richardson, for the rights to North Carolina forward Brandan Wright, the eighth overall pick.

With their first round pick, the Warriors chose Italian guard Marco Belinelli.